A hidden theme centred upon the nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy, the rhyme's name being the solution to 29a, 8d:Solomon Grundy,Born on a Monday,Christened on Tuesday,Married on Wednesday,Took ill on Thursday,Grew worse on Friday,Died on Saturday,Buried on Sunday,
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy.
The 7 across clues containing "our hero" [Solomon Grundy] make no explicit cross-reference to 29a, 8d (that would make solving too easy), but merely have a reference (eg a day of the week) to a line of the poem, which provides the link to understand the definition for these clues.